The Optimist (Abilene, Tex.), Vol. 68, No. 24, Ed. 1, Friday, March 27, 1981 Page: 4 of 23
twenty three pages : illus. ; page 15 x 11 in. Digitized from 35 mm. microfilm.View a full description of this newspaper.
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Tess' beautiful
but depressing
By LINDE THOMPSON
Optimist Staff
It seems strange to see the complete
credits for a movie displayed at the begin-
ning rather than at the end of the film.
Roman Polanski's film "Tess" begins in
such a fashion putting the seemingly end-
m less chain of names
against a backdrop of
beautiful French
countryside. Then
just as the remaining
names trickle off the
top of the screen and
the audience begins to
focus on the charming
scene of young girls clad in white skipping
though the flowered meadows the cryptic
dedication "to Sharon" glides across the
screen.
With those two words in reference to
Polanski's murdered wife Sharon Tate he
seems to begin the conflict between beauty
and tragedy that continues throughout
this three hour film.
'Tess" the screen adaptation of the 1891
novel 'Tess of the d'Urbervilles" by
Thomas Hardy deals with the life of a
beautiful young English girl and the
fateful events that bring love and tragedy
to her life.
Tess portrayed aptly by German ac-
tress Nastassia Kinski is first seduced by
a wealthy landowner and eventually
married to the son of a country minister.
The length of the film is not because of a
script packed with action but rather due to
the strict attention and time given to detail
and mood. Such effort is not wasted;
'Tess" is unquestionably a beautiful
motion picture.
However at some point the deliberate
pace seems to fail the audience. Near the
end of the film Tess makes life-changing
decisions at the mere transition of a scene
leaving the audience only to speculate at
her reasoning. Perhaps Polanski desired
this uncertainty or maybe it is the result
of author Hardy's depressing but
characteristic style.
At any rate depression seems to be the
key word in successful films this year.
'Tess" has garnered six Academy Award
nominations including best film to make it
a leader among other "heavies" like
"Ordinary People" and 'The Elephant
Man."
'Tess" director Polanski is one of the
contenders in that category for the Oscar.
Unfortunately even if Polanski wins the
award he won't be able to claim it in
person. Were he to return to the U.S. from
his home in France he would face a prison
sentence for a 1978 statutory rape con-
viction. The theme of "Tess" as stated by one of
the film's characters is that "beauty has
its price." For Polanski's bid for best
director of the year it would seem that the
price for glory is equally high.
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"Tuition is going up again? I didn't realize
football equipment was getting so expensive.
fcMMl8f)
Friendships necessity not option
By HELEN TEAQUE
Optimist Staff
The Friendship Factor. Alan Loy McGinnis.
Minneapolis Minn. Augsburg Publishing
House 1979 192 pp. $2.95.
As the familiar bumper sticker says "I found
it!" A book so interesting it surpasses even such
pk exciting volumes as
k Economics: Private and
fl k Public Choice Dimensions:
jfl BWM A Changing Concept of
fl Wv I L Health Bureaucratic
fl I ; Km Propaganda and Phun
Wk gF with Physics. Why this
iWHJv jewel is the best pastime
-4SK- IX. since McKinzie Beach. In
fact take it up to McKinzie Beach. This book
appeals to both the tanned and the albino.
Alan McGinnis conveys insights about the
ingredient most vital to human existence:
friendship. The well-known counselor unlocks
the secrets of making and cultivating new
friendships and reviving and enhancing
already established relationships. His simple
approach draws on practical advice and expert
research findings seasoned with illustrations
from the lives of notable people.
McGinnis observing the techniques of people
who attract others "like iron shavings to a
magnet" begins describing the "friendship
factor" the essential element of loving and
caring. "Friendship" he writes " is the
springboard for every other love. It spi'ls over
onto the other important relationships of life
and becomes a model for all intimate en-
counters." Sadly a recent study reveals that most
husbands and wives spend only 17 minutes a
week to the conversation that is essential to
effective communication between friends.
In this light eagerness to develop loving
friendships becomes not an option but a
necessity bearing the immediacy of Jesus'
command in Jean 13:34-35.: "A new com
mandment I give to you that you love one
another; even as I have loved you that you also
love one another. By this will all men know that
you are my disciples if you have love for one
another."
Part I of the book discusses five ways to
deepen relationships:
1. Assign top priority to a relationship - or no
more mission impossible.
2. Cultivate transparency or take off the
mask and be Casper the friendly ghost.
3. Dare to talk about your affection - or save
the prickly pear for the yearbook.
4. Learn the gestures of love or com-
munication encounters of the loving kind.
5. Create space in your relationship or
avoid static cling.
McGinnis continues his writing fusing his
thoughts with the thoughts and lives of Jesus
Abe Lincoln Thomas Jefferson Gayle Sears
Gandhi and Golda Meir. The Friendship Factor
contains techniques for improving con-
versational skills communicating emotions
handling negative feelings without destroying a
relationship forgiving and salvaging a sour
friendship.
The aim is simple and clear: develop the
qualities in yourself to guarantee the friend-
ships that make life an adventure.
As George Eliot wrote:
"Oh the comfort the inexpressible comfort of
feeling safe with a person; having neither to
weigh thoughts nor measure words but to pour
them all out just as it is chaff and grain
together knowing that a faithful hand will take
and sift them keeping what is worth keeping
and then with the breath of kindness blow the
rest away."
Just think how many problems on our
campus could be avoided if everyone had one
"pearl of great price" one friend to confide in
and trust. If everyone could reach out and
grasp a friend's hand we truly would have
found it - New Testament Christianity.
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The Optimist (Abilene, Tex.), Vol. 68, No. 24, Ed. 1, Friday, March 27, 1981, newspaper, March 27, 1981; Abilene, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth99580/m1/4/: accessed May 5, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Abilene Christian University Library.